MIGHTY JOE YOUNG (1998) *1/2 There's so much sorrow and tragedy and strife in the world.why oh why would anyone feel the need to put so much in a Walt Disney movie? It's so sad and it just goes on and on and on. Why re-make this particular film, I have no idea why. It's not happy, it doesn't make you feel good and it's certainly not better than the original. The state-of-the-art fake gorilla is very good, but lacks the elegance and style of Ray Harryhausen's original. So, why I ask, why? Not that it's a terrible movie in every regard, just that the good parts are wasted on a plan that's so obviously doomed not to work. Ron Underwood works the fake and real gorilla shots together well, and Charlize Theron does a nice turn as the gorilla-lovin' lass. Bill Paxton often catches important elements of the human side of California. But I like my feel-good movies a little more upbeat. I like my happy endings to eclipse anything else. I like movies done a way different than this.
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